jonsail

I have some international flights originating in the US on both Delta and American. Delta reservation agents insist I should be at the airport 2.5 hrs. before flight time even w/o check-in baggage whereas American says make it 1.5 hrs. I realize security lines can vary in length etc. Has anyone ever been denied boarding at American when they show at the gate at or before the start of boarding and without check-in luggage? I know my home airport of LAS and I am thinking that if I have TSA pre-check, have checked in on line, and have no carryon I can cut this a lot closer. But I don't want to make an expensive mistake. Thanks.

FlyingEgghead

1. There's a difference between recommended check-in and minimum check-in (the latter generally 60 minutes for AA intl).
2. Don't count on being able to check in online; it often doesn't work for intl flights due to required document checks.

3Cforme

You need to make the check-in deadline specific to international or domestic flight. Some airports have an exception to the general rule. Being in line isn't good enough.

You need to be at the gate by the stated deadline, whether or not boarding has started. They can quite happily bump you without IDB compensation when they have people waiting for seats.

Delayed and argumentative is not going to work with senior and unionized agents throughout the AA system. The deadlines are published - it's up to you to perform.

DWFI

That's certainly true in theory but I can't imagine a situation where, in practice, you'd get IDBed if you arrived at the gate past the scheduled cutoff if boarding has not commenced.

QueenOfCoach

Put an interesting book in your carry on luggage and get there in plenty of time.

Long Train Runnin

Jonssail much like your rant in the DL forum Why does Delta demand 2.5 hr. before flight check-in for international flights? I don't think you understand what these websites are saying.

There are hard deadlines on bag checks and hard time limits on when you need to be at the gate. If you don't need to check a bag and are at an airport that accepts mobile boarding passes (virtually every US airport, you can find exceptions internationally including bigger airports like SIN.) as long as you are at the gate 16 minutes before departure time you should have no issues getting on your AA flight.

Certain airlines at certain stations RECOMMEND that you arrive at an airport X number of hours early and that can depend on the airline/destination. Examples like TLV and LOS come to mind, but as long as you present yourself at the gate before the "door closes" time you will get on the flight.

Other examples are small outstations in the US like SUX, PUW, PWM, etc where there are only 2 or 3 flights a day TOTAL out of that airport its stupid to arrive more then 45 minutes before the flight because there will be at most 75 paxs trying to get on that exact flight. Some of these stations the security checkpoint doesn't even open until an hour before flight time, and some of them don't even have bathrooms after security, so you want to spend as little time as possible at these places. Of course the airline web site or phone agent will say its 2 hours before hand, but as you start to fly more and understand the airports you are using you'll realize all your doing is wasting a lot of your or your companies time being at these airports hours early for every flight.

Dalo

Consider how much time you will save by 'cutting it close' compared to how much time and money it will cost if you miss your flight . I have watched a few planes leave without me so I try to allow extra time .

wetrat0

In addition to everything else, the agent will need to check your passport for an international trip. With that said, it seems like you may be mixing up recommended airport arrival time with minimum check-in time and gate arrival time. You need to arrive at the airport early enough that you can check in by the minimum check-in time (as others have said, don't count on online check-in being available on an international itinerary) and be at the gate by the gate arrival time. How long that takes can vary, which is why they recommend to arrive early. Some international airports also have specific arrival times due to opening/closing of the check-in desk and immigration checks.

GetSetJetSet

Yes. I had a LGA-CMH flight, got to the gate and it was massively delayed, so I went back to the lounge. The flight got moved back up without any updates on the app (I was checking frequently). I got to the gate just as they were shutting the door. The door had literally just closed and the plane was at the gate, but they refused to let me board saying the flight was full and they had given my seat away, which made little sense to me since I had checked in AT the airport and had a boarding pass. I was pretty irate, but they were able to put me on another flight leaving with the hour, so no harm no foul.

mvoight

There is also another important time, the time you are required to be at the gate

QueenOfCoach

Here's the deal. What if someone were to tell you, authoritatively, that "X% of the time when you arrive by boarding time you are denied boarding"?

Are you willing to risk missing the flight for X% ? (1%? 5%? 10% 50% ?)

Are you wiling to miss the business meeting or the wedding or the vacation start for X% ?

When I fly, I do so with a purpose. People pay me to be there, not to play roulette with cutting it close. Thus, I get to the departure gate in plenty of time, and bring something to occupy myself productively while I wait.

CPRich

Multiply each by the probability of it happening. In my case, the historic probability of missing a flight due to being late is about 0.1% (2 flights in 20+ years, due to traffic accidents/freeway shutdown).

I lost about 4 hours both times, so my expected lost time of cutting is close is 14.4. seconds

I typically try to get to the gate at about 40 before departure/10 before boarding. If I arrived at the gate 90 minutes before departure my expected wasted time is 2,997 seconds.

My cumulative saved time over my travel career is 1,657 hours. In reality i do get there early for family flights, and occasionally when my co-workers are travel wimps, so probably closer to 1,000 hours.

ijgordon

Minimum check-in time is the strictest -- if you're not checked in by that time, then you're not getting on that flight, with few exceptions.
Then comes the "be-at-the-gate-15-minutes-before". You may or may not get on the flight if you're not at the gate by then. I think it's probably less than half the time where they're even finished regular (i.e., before standbys) boarding by T-15m, so in those cases you'd be fine, but still not something I would chance if I could help it.
Lastly is the recommended airport arrival time. Nothing more than a guideline, and an excessive one, IMO most of the time. Only serves to clog up the lounges and waiting areas...

bryanb

I learned my lesson the hard way.

I had checked in 24 hours before departure on the American Airlines app. The "check-in" button changed into a "boarding pass" button and I figured I was good to go. Well, unfortunately, the normally bad L.A. traffic became horrible L.A. traffic. Arriving at the airport with about 35 minutes before departure, I headed to TSA Pre-Check with my one carry-on in tow. There was no line there to my relief. Everything was going to be okay!

But opening the app, I realized to my horror that the boarding pass button yielded the message (to paraphrase): "Error... visit a self-service machine or see an agent." Not sure what the problem was, I immediately ran back down to the kiosks. But after taking me through the whole process, it said that the time for check-in had passed. But I was already checked in! 28 minutes to go. I could still make it? I tried flagging down an agent, but there were only two people working the area and they were swamped. I ran over to the Business Class line.

The agent there told me, "you're too late, you have to check in 45 minutes before departure." After explaining I had already checked in 24 hours ago, but the boarding pass wouldn't load, she shook her head. "I don't know why your boarding pass doesn't load then. It doesn't matter, it won't let me issue you a boarding pass now." "Can I try? There's no line at security." "The best I can do is get you on the next flight in four hours." I ended up arriving at the original gate just as the doors were closing.

Neither the agent nor I realized at the time: after you check-in on the app, you have to actually tap to view your boarding pass. You might think that the boarding pass is generated when you check-in, but it's not actually generated until you tap to view it on your phone screen. If you haven't viewed the pass, then the boarding pass button doesn't work anymore at boarding time. The app didn't make this clear, as good design would declare that was one more step during the check-in process. Oh well. Lesson learned!

ijgordon

Well I always like to add the boarding pass into the Wallet (on iPhone) because I don't trust the app. I usually take a screenshot as well, for backup.